Ohio Senate Democrats Urge Governor to Protect Ohioans from Harmful Budget Provisions

Yesterday, the Ohio Senate Democratic Caucus sent a letter to Governor DeWine, urging him to line-item veto a number of problematic provisions in the state’s operating budget, Amended Substitute House Bill 96. 

“This veto letter includes items that we believe are not in the best interest of all Ohioans,” said Senate Democratic Leader Nickie J. Antonio (D-Lakewood). “We have asked the governor to consider line-item vetoing them. I am hopeful that he will give thoughtful consideration to each and every item.”

Senate Democrats urged the Governor to veto a number of provisions, such as:

• “Ohio Cultural and Sports Facility Performance Grant Fund and unclaimed funds - COMCD45. Rather than consider the measured, pragmatic approach that you offered in your budget proposal regarding stadium funding mechanisms, the legislature instead decided to pursue a potentially unconstitutional plan that uses Ohioans’ private property to fund such projects. This provision does not reflect the best interests of Ohioans, nor is it consistent with your vision for a common-sense stadium funding policy, and should be removed.
• School district property tax reductions and school funding; 20-mill minimum levy requirement - TAXCD91. This provision punishes school districts that observe conservative financial practices to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars. While the intent is to provide immediate property tax relief, we believe this sweeping change could force districts to go before their voters more frequently, due to other uncertainties regarding school funding.
• Property tax levies - TAXCD104. We believe this provision is an overreach of the legislature. At a time when costs are rising for everyone, and in a budget that does not commit to the Fair School Funding Plan, we believe this will cause school districts even greater financial harm, forcing them to make difficult decisions about the kinds of services they can offer. We want to see meaningful property tax relief and reform, however this is not the form voters are asking for.
• Elimination of 0-3 Continuous Coverage Waiver - MCDCD41. Two years ago, we made a commitment to our constituents that children in the state of Ohio would be covered by Medicaid through the first three years of their lives. The 0-3 continuous coverage waiver is designed to set children up for success in the most important years of early childhood development by removing the risk of accidental disenrollment and churn. Today, the legislature has walked back on that promise, which puts our youngest Ohioans at risk. We must honor our pledge and deliver on this program.
• State Board of Education and school district members nominated by primary election (Senate Bill 107) - SOSCD14. Education is not a partisan, political issue, however this provision, by requiring political affiliations for school board candidates, makes education a partisan and political issue. We are concerned that making school board races partisan could restrict who can run due to their employment with state, federal or nonprofit entities.3 If we want our schools to be represented well, we should not add requirements that make it harder to run.”

The full list of requested vetoes and letter can be found here.